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perletwoOK, so the work on this primer kind of got away from me, mea culpa. But I now have it complete up to the current "The Culling" crossover arc.
In Part 1, we saw how Yera was duped into impersonating Shrinking Violet for months on end, during which time "Vi" secretly married Colossal Boy. Yera was exposed, Vi was rescued, Gim and Yera decided to stay married, and all was on track for them all to live happily ever after.
But first, they gotta tell Gim's parents...
( in a story called 'Guess What's Coming to Dinner?' No, really. )
And you can tune in to Legion Lost for more Chameleon Girl, now that The Culling is wrapping up!
In Part 1, we saw how Yera was duped into impersonating Shrinking Violet for months on end, during which time "Vi" secretly married Colossal Boy. Yera was exposed, Vi was rescued, Gim and Yera decided to stay married, and all was on track for them all to live happily ever after.
But first, they gotta tell Gim's parents...
( in a story called 'Guess What's Coming to Dinner?' No, really. )
And you can tune in to Legion Lost for more Chameleon Girl, now that The Culling is wrapping up!
Tags:
- char: brainiac 5/querl dox,
- char: chameleon boy/reep daggle,
- char: chameleon girl/yera allon,
- char: colossal boy/gim allon,
- char: computo,
- char: dawnstar,
- char: element lad/alchemist/jan arrah,
- char: gates,
- char: martian manhunter/j'onn j'onzz,
- char: phantom girl/apparition/tinya wazz,
- char: polar boy/brek bannin,
- char: sun boy/inferno/dirk morgan,
- char: superman/clark kent,
- char: tellus,
- char: timber wolf/brin londo,
- char: tyroc,
- char: wildfire/drake burroughs,
- creator: dan jurgens,
- creator: fabian nicieza,
- creator: francis portela,
- creator: gary frank,
- creator: geoff johns,
- creator: george tuska,
- creator: jon sibal,
- creator: karl kesel,
- creator: keith giffen,
- creator: larry mahlstedt,
- creator: matt camp,
- creator: mindy newell,
- creator: paul levitz,
- creator: pete woods,
- creator: steve lightle,
- creator: tom defalco,
- group: legion of super-heroes,
- publisher: dc comics,
- title: action comics,
- title: legion lost,
- title: legion of super-heroes,
- trigger warning: racism
Common Grounds - Post 1
Apr. 2nd, 2011 10:04 pmicon_ukI love a good superhero slugfest, they can be very... cathartic (If they also feature cute acrobats or the like, so much the better, but it's not absolutely required)
However, I love the offbeat too, the "slice of life" stories which look at how superpowers impact ones life, and look at why some people become heroes and some people become villains, and why some people don't actually do much with their powers. The likes of "Astro City" and "DP7" examine this sort of thing, but there are others too. This is the first of a series about one title which did it very well indeed, IMHO.
"Common Grounds" was a 6-issue mini series from Top Cow Productions in 2004, created by Troy Hickman, with two stories per issue, and a rotating cast of noted artist telling one story each.
The premise is simple. In this world there exists a chain of coffee shops; "Common Grounds", whose purpose is to create a neutral environment for super-powered beings. Anyone is welcome (though "normals" tend to be intimidated) but the one rule is "NO FIGHTING". There's no truce magic, or power neutralising effects or the like, just mutual agreement. And it holds too, because even supervillains like somewhere to get a nice kruller and a cup of really good coffee. And anyone dumb enough, or psycho enough, to try something there would discover that A) Their bouncers are superpowered too, and B) All the OTHER heroes and villains who liked it there would be after you like a shot. You think Darkseid is bad, just wait until you see Bucky deprived of his coffee and morning Danish pastry... An eternity in the Firepits of Apokalips would be a refreshing spring breeze by comparison. (It's never stated, but one might assume that the Police don't intervene on Common Grounds property because if they're having a coffee they're not robbing a bank, and if you did try to intervene then it would get very messy very quickly.)
These stories are mostly 9 pages long (a few longer, a few shorter), which makes trimming to 1/3 a beast of a job, so I would thoroughly recommend checking out the proper versions of these stories (It's available as a TPB for those who can't find the single issues) as they do deserve a proper reading.
From issue 1, the tale of Speeding Bullet, who lives
( Beyond the Speed of Life )
However, I love the offbeat too, the "slice of life" stories which look at how superpowers impact ones life, and look at why some people become heroes and some people become villains, and why some people don't actually do much with their powers. The likes of "Astro City" and "DP7" examine this sort of thing, but there are others too. This is the first of a series about one title which did it very well indeed, IMHO.
"Common Grounds" was a 6-issue mini series from Top Cow Productions in 2004, created by Troy Hickman, with two stories per issue, and a rotating cast of noted artist telling one story each.
The premise is simple. In this world there exists a chain of coffee shops; "Common Grounds", whose purpose is to create a neutral environment for super-powered beings. Anyone is welcome (though "normals" tend to be intimidated) but the one rule is "NO FIGHTING". There's no truce magic, or power neutralising effects or the like, just mutual agreement. And it holds too, because even supervillains like somewhere to get a nice kruller and a cup of really good coffee. And anyone dumb enough, or psycho enough, to try something there would discover that A) Their bouncers are superpowered too, and B) All the OTHER heroes and villains who liked it there would be after you like a shot. You think Darkseid is bad, just wait until you see Bucky deprived of his coffee and morning Danish pastry... An eternity in the Firepits of Apokalips would be a refreshing spring breeze by comparison. (It's never stated, but one might assume that the Police don't intervene on Common Grounds property because if they're having a coffee they're not robbing a bank, and if you did try to intervene then it would get very messy very quickly.)
These stories are mostly 9 pages long (a few longer, a few shorter), which makes trimming to 1/3 a beast of a job, so I would thoroughly recommend checking out the proper versions of these stories (It's available as a TPB for those who can't find the single issues) as they do deserve a proper reading.
From issue 1, the tale of Speeding Bullet, who lives
( Beyond the Speed of Life )
In honour of Dwayne McDuffie: Firestorm
Feb. 23rd, 2011 12:10 amflidgetjeromeWhen Dwayne McDuffie took over writing duties for the Jason Rusch Firestorm series he already knew the title was heading for cancellation. He only got to write three issues but it still some of the best writing and some of the best fight scenes that any of the Firestorms have ever gotten.
( Here's three pages from issue #33. )
( Here's three pages from issue #33. )
pyrotwilightBack to the Bloodline!
One interesting tidbit for those who don't have/use Facebook is that Dan Didio is being somewhat mysterious and has began researching the Bloodlines annuals and the New Bloods spawned from them. Whether that means we may be seeing more of the New Bloods is a good question but it has me excited. Hopefully it won't be to round up the still living New Bloods to gun them down...
Now here's one of my favorite New Bloods a character soon to be known as Myriad. As we've seen with the other New Bloods they were wholly new characters, that is actually not the case with Myriad as she was actually a character that first appeared in Part of the World Without Superman story (Superman #77).
So hope you like this story it has Luthor, it has the mysterious new Blood, it has the Man of Tomorrow but he's no Superman.
4 pages from Superman #77
And 17 from the 56 page story from the Annual
( Enter Myriad )
One interesting tidbit for those who don't have/use Facebook is that Dan Didio is being somewhat mysterious and has began researching the Bloodlines annuals and the New Bloods spawned from them. Whether that means we may be seeing more of the New Bloods is a good question but it has me excited. Hopefully it won't be to round up the still living New Bloods to gun them down...
Now here's one of my favorite New Bloods a character soon to be known as Myriad. As we've seen with the other New Bloods they were wholly new characters, that is actually not the case with Myriad as she was actually a character that first appeared in Part of the World Without Superman story (Superman #77).
So hope you like this story it has Luthor, it has the mysterious new Blood, it has the Man of Tomorrow but he's no Superman.
4 pages from Superman #77
And 17 from the 56 page story from the Annual
( Enter Myriad )
It's Back To the Old Chalkboard Again...
Feb. 3rd, 2011 04:59 amsailorlibraTwo pages from Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 that contain hints for future Booster issues and, of course, Flashpoint.
( Cryptic Spoilers here )
( Cryptic Spoilers here )
thehefnerBest idea I've heard all week: someone should write a novelization of LOST.
Just do the entire series in a single book. Perhaps like THE STAND, but even better edited to incorporate all the good stuff, cut out the dead weight, and revise things so that it all works better as a whole.
Because that's the inherent difficulty of writing for long-form serialized format, be it in TV or comics: no matter how well you plan it out, so many things can go wrong that can create plot holes, dropped threads, inconsistent characterization, etc. Maybe it can be avoided if it's all done by a single (extremely talented) writer, but it's damn well impossible with multiple writers.
That's why Greg Rucka's novelization of NO MAN'S LAND is largely superior to the original comics, both of which I've been rereading for the first time in years for these posts. He's able to iron out the kinks from the comics, even the ones he himself had originally written, while cutting out pointless subplots and letting other story elements breathe.
By and large, the actual stories of both are the same, with one major exception: the shared arcs of Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya, and Harvey Dent. Last post, it was the same, but with some added scenes of Harvey and Renee's interaction.
But starting here, the actual chain of events alters and their motivations deepen, turning what originally was a better-than-average crime/adventure story into something rather more complex and soul-searching.
( Very little actual Batman behind the cut )
Next week, the grand finale: Jim Gordon('s soul) on trial, with Two-Face as the prosecutor, Harvey Dent as the defense, and Renee Montoya stuck in the middle.
Just do the entire series in a single book. Perhaps like THE STAND, but even better edited to incorporate all the good stuff, cut out the dead weight, and revise things so that it all works better as a whole.
Because that's the inherent difficulty of writing for long-form serialized format, be it in TV or comics: no matter how well you plan it out, so many things can go wrong that can create plot holes, dropped threads, inconsistent characterization, etc. Maybe it can be avoided if it's all done by a single (extremely talented) writer, but it's damn well impossible with multiple writers.
That's why Greg Rucka's novelization of NO MAN'S LAND is largely superior to the original comics, both of which I've been rereading for the first time in years for these posts. He's able to iron out the kinks from the comics, even the ones he himself had originally written, while cutting out pointless subplots and letting other story elements breathe.
By and large, the actual stories of both are the same, with one major exception: the shared arcs of Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya, and Harvey Dent. Last post, it was the same, but with some added scenes of Harvey and Renee's interaction.
But starting here, the actual chain of events alters and their motivations deepen, turning what originally was a better-than-average crime/adventure story into something rather more complex and soul-searching.
( Very little actual Batman behind the cut )
Next week, the grand finale: Jim Gordon('s soul) on trial, with Two-Face as the prosecutor, Harvey Dent as the defense, and Renee Montoya stuck in the middle.
Tags:
- char: bane,
- char: black bat/batgirl/cassandra cain,
- char: david cain,
- char: jim gordon,
- char: question/renee montoya,
- char: two-face/harvey dent,
- creator: bill sienkiewicz,
- creator: chuck dixon,
- creator: damion scott,
- creator: dan jurgens,
- creator: greg rucka,
- creator: john floyd,
- creator: kelley puckett,
- creator: mike deodato,
- event: no man's land
